tonight on "nightline," toyota in trouble. the giant automaker is forced to take dramatic action after a series of deaths tied to runaway toyotas. the sale of eight models is suspended, so, is your car safe to drive? got milk? beyond the milk mustache smiles, do you know where your milk really comes. >>? an undercover investigation exposed what critics call barbaric treatment of cows and it is all caught on hidden camera. and mr. independent for president? is outspoken views on illegal immigration and the birther movement have made ima hero and a villain. now he may want your vote. so, what's next for lou dobbs? >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, martin bashir and cynthia mcfadden in new york city. this is "nightline," january >> good evening. and we begin tonight with major concerns. toyota announced just a few hours ago that it will suspend the sale of eight separate automobile models in the united states. this huge move will allow the company to focus on fixing a high profile safety tonight on "nightline," toyota in trouble. the giant automaker is forced to take dramatic action after a series of deaths tied to runaway toyotas. the sale of eight models is suspended, so, is your car safe to drive? got milk? beyond the milk mustache smiles, do you know where your milk really comes. >>? an undercover investigation exposed what critics call barbaric treatment of cows and it is all caught on hidden camera. and mr. independent for president? is outspoken views on illegal immigration and the birther movement have made ima hero and a villain. now he may want your vote. so, what's next for lou dobbs? >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, martin bashir and cynthia mcfadden in new york city. this is "nightline," january 2thr toyota's taki o the ow apparently due to stuck accelerato pedals. it follows a pair of massive recalls and the reporting of our own chief investigative

correspondent brian ross who has the story tonight. brian? the story tonight. brian? >> it was suspending sales and stopping production of many of its most popular cars, including the best seller car in america, the ca y camry. toyota is saying it does not yet know how to fix the problem of its runaway cars. toyota dealers were told to suspend sales of eight different models because the company says the guess pedals may stick and the cars run out of control. the models include the camry, corolla, matrix, avenalon, tund, highlander and sequoia. cars remain on the road, leaving some of their owners very worried. >> i used to have toyotas, never had this problem car. >> reporter: today's action follows reports of 2,000 accidents and at least 20 deaths linked to runaway toyotas. most dramatic, what happened to mark saylor, driving a 2009 lexus with three members of his family when the car sped out of control. this is what it looks like going 50 miles an hour on that highway. this is what it looks like double, to the approximate mat 100 miles an hour, the speed saylor reached.

>> our accelerator's stuck. we're in trouble. there's no brakes. >> reporter: his brother-in-law called 911 from the backseat. >> you don't have the ability to, like, turn the vehicle off or anything? >> we're approaching the intersection. we're approaching the intersection. hold on. pray. >> reporter: all four people in the car died. at first, toyota blamed only floor mats, catching the gas pedal. and ordered the recall in november of some 4.3 million sets of floor mats. toyota corporate headquarters, the company president offered deepest condolences for the deaths, but executives claim the u.s. government had found no other problem whatsoever. >> the question of unintended acceleration involving toyota vehicles has been thoroughly investigated by the nhta without any finding of defect other than an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat. >> reporter: that was not true, and toyota had to admit it, as

the reports of accidents and deaths continued. >> there's someone upside down in a car in the pond and they've been in there for over a minute now. >> reporter: four people died the day after christmas when this toyota crashed through a fence and landed upside down in a pond in suburban dallas. the floor mats were found in the trunk of the car, where toyota had told owners to put them in the recall. >> there's no one single issue that's causing these unintended acceleration complaints to rise to the top. that makes it extraordinarily difficult for the company to deal with. so, by neglecting the problems, they're paying for it now. >> reporter: sean cane first revealed the number of complaints of owners of runaway toyotas. cane says today's recall says the company still cannot find the reason so many of its cars have taken off on their owners. >> what's unusual here is the scope and magnitude of this problem, and the fact that this is a crisis that toyota is

facing. it's spinning out of their control. >> reporter: in addition to suspended sales of the eight models, toyota has stopped production at five different factories in texas, kentucky, indiana and canada, involving more than 20,000 employees. some toyota owners say the problem will still not be fixed even when the company solves the sticky gas pedal problem. no one at toyota headquarters in tokyo would agree to speak with abc news. a security guard ordered our screw to turn off its camera and leave the premises. >> one word explains why toyota owners love their cars. quality. >> reporter: the cost of the fix will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars for toyota, and that's before the cost of a very much damaged reputation for quality and safety. >> no other automaker has won more top safety pick awards than toyota. so it's okay to be

overprotective. we are. >> reporter: toyota says it does not know how long the freeze will last or when or how they will fix the problem. so, it's worth reminding toyota owners of what experts say to do if their cars take off on them. shift the car into neutral, don't pump the brakes and don't turn off the car, because that cuts off power steering. for now, that's about the best advice possible for millions of americans stuck with toyotas the companies say are too dangerous to be sold by dealers. terry? >> a frightening problem, and real problems at toyota there that your team helped uncover. brian, up next, you are another investigation for us. >> reporter: that's right, terry. this time, we take a hard look at the agriculture industry as hidden cameras reveal a darker side of dairy farming. >> okay. thank, brian. that investigation is coming up next, and later in the broadcast, lou dobbs, former cable news star, angry pop ewist, horse farmer, and presidential candidate?

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to relieve painful coughs, congestion and sore throats. got got milk? you know the ads. hundreds of celebrities have lent their name and their upper lip to the dairy industry campaign. but where does your milk really come from? not all dairy farms are created equal and an undercover investigation has rekreeled the disturbing reality that some co cows face. a warner here, some of the footage you're about to see here is graphic. here again is brian ross.

>> reporter: the dairy industry's marketing campaign for milk has been masterful. celebrities with white mustaches vouch for it as a hip, nutrition drink. >> i love it here. >> reporter: and talking cows chat away on television commercials about the wonderful surroundings that make them such happy cows. >> happy cows come from california. >> reporter: the industry is spending millions of dollars to get across its message that american milk comes from happy cows. >> american dairy cows today actually have a better life than what they had a generation or two ago because we've realized that proper animal husbandry results in higher quality milk and more milk. >> reporter: but the reality is nowhere near as happy. according to animal rights groups that have been working undercover to expose what they say they found across the country. unhealthy couples in filthy conditions, often subject to inhumane abuse. >> this is why you see ad campaigns like the happy cow can campaign, because the industry wants to continue to perpetuate

in the mind of the consumer that animals being raised for food are being treated in the way that, you know, old mcdonald's farm. it's just not that way anymore. >> reporter: this is one of the biggest and best-known dairy operations in new york state, a place where no matter the season, the cows are never outside. instead, for maximum efficiency, the 5,000 cows here spend every day of their lives inside giant manure-filled crowded barns. the coups are fed a special diet of grain and nutrients once a day and kept pregnant through artificial insemination so milk production levels will remain high. it's a hugely successful farm, sending 40,000 gallons a day to milk companies in new york city and elsewhere. the man who runs the giant dairy farm, linden odell, says the large scale operations allow for the latest techniques to get the most out of the coups and keep the quality high and the price low. they call you a factory farm.

you don't really care for the animals. >> well, i think they can't be farther from the truth. i mean, our animals are critically important to our well-being. so, we work hard to treat them well. >> reporter: but undercover videos may by an investigation for the group mercy for animals raise some serious questions. >> these animals are really treatmented as little more than milk-producing machines. animals with open wounds. animals having their babies dragged from their sides. >> reporter: we showed the tape to the man who runs the dairy. >> well, i'm disappointed because what they've done is picked a few isolated incidents and they are trying to portray them as something that is malicious on our part. >> reporter: but always caught on the undercover tape are scenes of brutality. a farm supervisor hitting one of the cows on the head on a wrench and boasting about it to the investigation or the. >> you got that wrench to her. >> what did you do with it?

>> cracked her own the [ bleep ] skull. >> reporter: the farm owner said he would not tolerate that. >> we have a history of firing people that mistreat the animals. >> reporter: but perhaps the most disturbing scenes on the video involve what turns out to be a very common practice across the country. what's called tail-docking. cutting off the end of a cow's tail. dairy farmers say the tails can get in the way of the milking machines and slow down the process. that's standard practice? >> as far as i know, that's standard for the industry. >> reporter: the cow looks like it's in pain when the tail is cut off. >> it may appear that way. >> reporter: it's not? >> i guess i can't speak for the cow, but -- >> reporter: you need to anesthetize the cow? >> no. >> reporter: no? even more difficult to watch is one of the farm hands burning off the horns on a young cow. another so-called standard practice in the dairy industry,

according to the farmers here. people who don't work on farms, that looks like terrible treatment. >> well, i don't think it's what you see. i don't see what you see. >> reporter: you see it differently? >> yeah. >> reporter: and you don't see it as inhumane? >> i would rather not do it if we didn't need to do that, but we can all avoid that if possible, but i think ultimately it's more dangerous if you don't. >> reporter: but even the dairy trade industry agrees with animal rights groups about this. without painkillers, such actions are outrageous. >> science has shown this practice is barbaric and totally unnecessary. >> reporter: spurred on but the humane society, the california legislature made tail-docking illegal last year. >> we heard a lot of anger from a lot of dairy cow farmers and we need to send a zero tolerance message that ultimately, every animal should be treated humanely.

>> reporter: a similar bill was introduced in the new york legislature just this month. and animal rights groups say the movement is growing. they say they have their own question to ask in response to the got milk campaign. >> got ethics? >> this is brian ross for "nightline" in new york. >> our thanks to brian for that investigation. coming up, love him or loathe him, but would you vote for him? i spend the day with lou dobbs. announcer: cialis asks, when is it time to get out of those tubs? when we want. when we're in the mood. it's our choice. announcer: today, guys with erectile dysfunction can be ready with another dosing option from cialis. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. so relax and take your time. tell your doctor about your medical condition and all medications and ask if you're healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain,

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>> lou dobbs. he used to sit at an anchor desk a lot like this one at cnn for nearly three decades, until november, when the 64-year-old suddenly left the network, and while his brash opinions agitated some viewers, others saw dobbs as a breath of fresh air. these dachls, he is keeping busy. in fact, lou dobbs may soon be asking for your vote. >> this is "lou dobbs tonight." >> reporter: sometimes, there may be two lou dobbs. there's angry lou. >> that's the answer we get? give me a break. >> reporter: answerly rowe became a raging cable news crusader in recent years, turning his nightly cnn program into a soap box for rants on illegal immigration, federal spending, barack obama, and other things that made him mad. >> are the american people ever going to get any representation in that screw ball town? >> reporter: lou dobbs' cable

raid was great for the movement. he stoked what propelled scott brown's shocking upset victory. >> this is the people's seat. >> reporter: but then, there's affable lou. how are things? >> excellent. how about you? >> reporter: dobbs is a hard guy not to like, as we found out on a visit to his 300 acre horse farm in rural new jersey. >> you like horses? >> reporter: well, no, actual will i ly, i don't. >> well, let's see if they like you. >> reporter: dobbs is spending more time on the farm these days, where in november he abruptly quit cnn, a network he joined when it launched in 1980. >> this will be my last broadcast here on cnn. >> reporter: so, now what? well, how about senator lou dobbs? or president lou dobbs?

>> a number of people have asked me, obviously, to think about president, senate. i would be lying if i told you i wasn't enamored in various junctures in my thinking with the idea. >> reporter: what makes you qualified to be president of the united states? >> to be president, well -- i'm not sure that i am. i think one of the most important qualifications, i'm starting to believe, for that job is the first person to not want it. >> reporter: so, what does lou want? in the early years at cnn, he was a button-downed business anchor. he was a blatant cheerleader for corporate america. the question some people ask is, what happened to lou dobbs, that back in the '90s, he was a pillar of the establishment. >> right. >> reporter: what happened? >> 2001, 2002. and a sense that the country was going in the wrong direction. i frankly said, enough's enough.

>> reporter: sounds like a conversion. >> a conversion, epiphany. but i'm learning and growing and i still have the same values. >> reporter: the same values. maybe that's the source of lou's anger. we got a glimpse of it at his farm when i asked him about the contrast between his rhetoric and this reality. so you've got 300 acres. you got the horses. the swans. now, you've heard this before. for a man of the people, this is a pretty aristocratic lifestyle. how do you answer that? >> well, you know, if that's the way somebody feels, i don't think i quite understand it because i'm about as american as working man as you get. i worked mid ass off my whole life, and i'm kind of proud of that. >> reporter: dobbs grew up in rural america, in the panhandle of texas and the small town of rupert, i.d. i. his high school principle helped him get a scholarship to harvard where he met and joined the e

leelts he now scorns. >> the national media has been complicit in allowing this administration to get away with breaking that promise. >> reporter: every weekday, dobbs rallies the talk radio faithful on his syndicated show, which along with a webseat and a store, three best sellers, represent a campaign to brand him as mr. independent. >> and now, everyone's favorite radical centrist, lou dobbs. >> yee-haw, america. >> reporter: as leer at cnn, dobbs took on president obama with gusto. >> he's chosen not to release his original birther is tiffic. >> reporter: he spotlighted the birther movement, conspiracy theorists that barack obama was not born in the united states. he insists he'd do it again. >> why not just provide a copy? >> reporter: in your last months at cnn, you devoted plenty of time on your program to the

ludicrous conspiracy theory that barack obama was not born in the united states. >> i counted eight days. how much did you count? >> reporter: eight days. that's plenty of time. >> and what i said was? i believe he's a citizen of the united states but i don't understand with army officers refusing to go to afghanistan because they question whether or not he's a citizen, with federal lawsuits filed. why don't you simply turn over the long form and be done with the issue? whoa, my god, i offended the national media by asking a question. >> reporter: did you have any -- >> can i chew my nails while i worry about that? >> reporter: the hottest button dobbs has pushed again and again is illegal immigration. >> illegal aliens already in this country costing citizens billions of dollars. >> reporter: for years in his broken borders segment he warned of dire changers from illegal immigrants, including running a false report on the number of let are si cases in the u.s.,

and he railed against just about any plan that called for a path to legalization for illegal immigrants. there were protests and campaigns to get cnn to dump dobbs. do you think you're popular with hit panic-americans? >> i don't know if i am, but i'm trying. i hope i will be, by the way. because i intend to be part of the solution. >> reporter: you hope you will be? >> yeah. >> reporter: popular with hispanic-americans? >> absolutely. >> reporter: because you might need their votes? >> i might. and besides, i'm a hell of a nice guy. why not? >> reporter: he might need their votes. so, in a move that shocked critics and supporters alike, dobbs told the spanish language network tell money doe that now he actually supports a path to u.s. silt seven ship. >> we need the ability to legalize illegal immigrants on certain conditions. >> reporter: dobbs has been labeled a turncoat by former fans, but he denies it. >> i have said from 2003 on that

i support a rational, effective and humane immigration policy. >> reporter: so the charge of flip-flopping? >> come on. >> reporter: they are accusing you of rank opportunism. >> i made mistakes as a journalist, and my god, i would actually consider other avenues to pursue. this sounds like a bad person to the bone. >> reporter: but are you changing your tune? do you feel -- >> yes, i'm changing my tune. >> reporter: you are? >> absolutely. and if -- if i weren't changing my tune i think i'd be something of a moron. >> reporter: dobbs has certainly grown, from the small-town kid to the sober tv anchor, to the angry populist crusader, to what? the senator? maybe it depends on which lou he chooses to be. the two or more sides of lou dobbs.

we'll be right back. but first, here's jimmy kimmel with what's coming up next. >> jimmy: thanks, terry. on the show tonight, tharrison ford, kristen bell and silversun pickups.